Seedskadee Project
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The Seedskadee Project is a water resources development project of the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it ...
. The project focuses on the upper Green River in western
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
, storing the river's waters in
Fontenelle Reservoir Fontenelle Reservoir is an artificial reservoir located in southwest Wyoming. It lies almost entirely within Lincoln County, although the east end of the Fontenelle Dam and a tiny portion of the reservoir are actually in northwestern Sweetwater ...
. The project is associated with the
Colorado River Storage Project The Colorado River Storage Project is a United States Bureau of Reclamation project designed to oversee the development of the upper Colorado drainage basins, basin of the Colorado River. The project provides Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric powe ...
, retaining the waters of the Green for use in the upper Colorado Basin. Water held behind
Fontenelle Dam Fontenelle Dam was built between 1961 and 1964 on the Green River in southwestern Wyoming. The high zoned earthfill dam impounds the Fontenelle Reservoir. The dam and reservoir are the central features of the Seedskadee Project of the U.S. Bu ...
, built from 1961 to 1968, is used for hydroelectric power generation and industrial use. The reservoir supports recreational use. As originally conceived, the Seedskadee Project was planned to provide irrigation water for the high desert of western Wyoming. Authorized in 1956 with other elements of the Colorado River Storage Project, construction of the irrigation elements of the project were suspended in 1962 for study of the economics of high-altitude irrigation. The Seedskadee Development Farm was established as a pilot operation to explore irrigation methods in cooperation with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and production ...
and the
University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...
. As it became apparent that potential crops were limited to livestock fodder, precluding high-value crops that could provide a high return on investment, the attractiveness of irrigation faded. The farm operated until 1972 and has not operated since. The project chiefly protects Wyoming's water rights and provides water to mining and power generation activities in the
Green River, Wyoming Green River is a city in and the county seat of Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 11,825 at the 2020 census. It is the 7th most populous city in Wyoming. History The townsi ...
area.


See also

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Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in western Sweetwater County in the state of Wyoming. It covers 26,400 acres (106 km2) managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an a ...
, established to mitigate wildlife habitat loss resulting from the construction of the Fontenelle Reservoir and
Flaming Gorge Reservoir Flaming Gorge Reservoir is the largest reservoir in Wyoming, on the Green River, impounded behind the Flaming Gorge Dam. Construction on the dam began in 1958 and was completed in 1964. The reservoir stores of water when measured at an el ...


References


External links


Seedskadee Project
at the Bureau of Reclamation {{coord, 42, 04, 09, N, 110, 08, 10, W, format=dms, display=title, type:waterbody_region:US-WY Colorado River Storage Project Lincoln County, Wyoming Sweetwater County, Wyoming Irrigation Districts of the United States United States Bureau of Reclamation